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CURTIS CUP

Sophia Schubert is one of two U.S. Women's Amateur champions selected to attend the Curtis Cup practice session at Shoal Creek. (USGA/Steven Gibbons)

The USGA’s International Team Selection Committee has invited 12 players to participate in a practice session in advance of the 2018 Curtis Cup Match. The session for prospective players will take place Dec. 17-18 at Shoal Creek (Ala.), host site of the 2018 U.S. Women’s Open Championship.

A biennial competition, the 40th Curtis Cup Match will be contested June 8-10, 2018, at Quaker Ridge Golf Club in Scarsdale, N.Y. The Great Britain & Ireland Team defeated the USA Team, 11.5-8.5, in the 2016 Match at Dun Laoghaire Golf Club in Enniskerry, Ireland.

The following 12 players have accepted invitations to the practice session:

Two U.S. Women’s Amateur champions – Schubert (2017) and Gillman (2014) – are among the players who have accepted invitations. One USGA runner-up was also invited: Lee was runner-up in the 2016 U.S. Girls’ Junior to three-time USGA champion Eun Jeong Seong.

Virginia Derby Grimes, an accomplished amateur player who won the 1998 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur and was a member of three victorious USA Curtis Cup Teams (1998, 2000 and 2006), will serve as captain of the USA Team. She was also a member of Alabama’s winning team in the 1997 USGA Women’s State Team Championship and finished runner-up in the 2004 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur. A member of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and a graduate of Auburn University, Derby Grimes served on the USGA Women’s Committee in 2003-04.

"There are so many incredibly talented female golfers in the United States, and I’m very excited to bring 12 of the top amateurs together for this practice session, which will focus on the four-ball and foursomes formats used in the Curtis Cup Match,” said Derby Grimes, an Alabama resident. “We are grateful to Shoal Creek for the opportunity to use their world-class facilities, and we look forward to conducting this session at the 2018 U.S. Women’s Open host site.”

Invitation to the Curtis Cup practice session does not guarantee selection to the USA Team that will compete in June. Players not invited will also be considered for inclusion on the team.

The Curtis Cup Match is contested by two teams of eight female amateur players, one from the United States of America and one from Great Britain and Ireland, which is comprised of England, the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The USGA’s International Team Selection Committee selects the USA Team, while The R&A selects the GB&I Team.

Elaine Farquharson-Black will serve as GB&I captain. Farquharson-Black, a native of Scotland, represented GB&I in the 1990 and 1992 Curtis Cup Matches and captained the victorious 2016 team.

The USA Team, which leads the overall series, 28-8-3, last won in 2014 at St. Louis Country Club. The 1986 Match at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchison, Kan., is the only time the GB&I team has won in the United States.

Vanessa Zink is a manager of championship communications for the USGA. Email her at vzink@usga.org.